That question just came up in a conversation with a friend of mine (she breeds dogs and uses it for when her females have their puppie, I've got a mare due to foal soon..). If it is, what is it used for. And if not, or not widely as a BS antibiotic, why not? Really just curious!

Googling it I found directions for using it on elephants, dogs and bears.

Thanks!

Oxytetracycline is a broad spectrum antibiotic that is in fact used quite often in horses, but this drug must be given intravenously so you don’t often see it on tack room shelves as you might find sulfa tablets and penicillin. Oxytet is the drug of choice for Potomac Horse Fever and other blood infections such as Erlichiosis . It is also occasionally used to treat respiratory infections if the causative bacteria is susceptible to that particular drug. Horses diagnosed with Lyme disease will often receive a course of IV oxytet for the first week to build up systemic levels before switching over to a close oral version called doxycycline for long term treatment. Tetracycline is also used in neonatal foals to relieve contracted tendons. Nobody is entirely sure why large doses of this drug given IV relives tight tendons in young foals, but it will often cause sufficient relaxation to enable the limb to be fully straightened and bear weight normally.

Melissa McKee DVM